Neglected "newer" boat - what to do?

[NYBo]

Re: Neglected "newer" boat - what to do?

Congratulations!:whoo:

That's really not a lot of mildew- a couple of days under an unventilated cover in humid weather could be enough to cause that.

The first order of business should be to get the tach working, IMO.

You're a lot younger than I pictured.

 

[lfunk11]

Re: Neglected "newer" boat - what to do?

Congratulations!:whoo:

That's really not a lot of mildew- a couple of days under an unventilated cover in humid weather could be enough to cause that.

The first order of business should be to get the tach working, IMO.

You're a lot younger than I pictured.

When I first saw the boat I thought the seats were ruined - lol

I will likely just enjoy the boat the next few weekends and then try tow it up to the house to start fixing things and cleaning. I just hope I can fit it in our garage. Our basement has a garage door and thus the whole basement is one big unfinished space - my wife said her SUV still needs to be in there, but I think I may be able to get the boat in and then hopefully angle it in around a support pole by hand with help. I am pretty excited - seems like a diamond in the rough.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Neglected "newer" boat - what to do?

That doesn't look too bad. Try some soap and water with a non scratch kitchen sponge, I'll bet that it'll mostly come off with that.

 

[moosehead]

Re: Neglected "newer" boat - what to do?

Congrats lfunk11. Unless you were able to confirm that the engine and outdrive oils were done at the start of this season or end of last year, it would be a good move to go ahead and change them out now, along with the oil and fuel filters, and a new impeller. If mine, I would get ahead of it and also pull the outdrive for service and install a new bellows. It may serve you well do do above now vs waiting until season end, when it should be done anyway.

Best of luck, and enjoy.

 

[aspeck]

Re: Neglected "newer" boat - what to do?

Take me to funky town! Congrats, Funk! Soft scrub should do the trick on the mildew. Not bad at all! As mentioned, check the oil records and if not done this year, do it soon. Get your plan for the basement/garage so after winterization you can put it there and get busy on the cosmetics. The look on your face behind the steering wheel is priceless ... Lots of enjoyment there!

 

[lfunk11]

Re: Neglected "newer" boat - what to do?

Congrats lfunk11. Unless you were able to confirm that the engine and outdrive oils were done at the start of this season or end of last year, it would be a good move to go ahead and change them out now, along with the oil and fuel filters, and a new impeller. If mine, I would get ahead of it and also pull the outdrive for service and install a new bellows. It may serve you well do do above now vs waiting until season end, when it should be done anyway.

Best of luck, and enjoy.

I will definitely be doing the normal maintenance after labor day - I may have the boat out a few days before then. I plan on getting it out of the water and up to our house. I normally service our cars and after looking at winterization procedure I am 95% confident I can handle that. I should have all the tools I need and can just buy anything I don't have. I was planning on pulling the outdrive and greasing it - not sure of the terminology here since I only watched a few initial vids on it, but doesn't seem all that hard. I will change the oil and the lower unit fluid and any other fluid that needs changed.

I haven't thought too much about the impeller and bellows yet (just figured out what they were after your post!). I watched a few quick vids on them, but will need to investigate those more once I get the boat to a place I can work on it. I am sure I won't like not being able to use the boat for so long, but I am kind of looking forward to tinkering with the boat over the winter. I really need a hobby and I like tinkering with things so this should be fun. The motor isn't all that accessible, but I am hoping there will be a way to remove the "sun deck" and possibly other things to have more work space over the winter.

 

[moosehead]

Re: Neglected "newer" boat - what to do?

We use a seasonal slip as well. While it is definitely bittersweet to pull her for a long winter's nap, offseason and midseason are great times to get preventative maintenance, deep cleaning, and any mods done. Tinkering can either be theraputic, or sometimes maddening. If you can stay in front of it, you'll get more carefree hours onboard.

It will also take you awhile to get comfortable retrieving and launching the boat and handling the trailer, and you should also check over the trailer bearings, lighting, and hitch functions so they are shipnshape. Do yourself a favor and practice trailering during non weekend or slower ramp periods. Burn a note to yourself to always remember: (1) remove drainplug at retrievel and replace it before launch, and (2) put the outdrive all the way up before retrieval. Even veterans miss these and have all sorts of reminders whether it be a checklist, taped notes, or hanging the drainplug near the winch handle.

Let's see more pics when you have a chance, which should be this morning, heh.

 

[lfunk11]

Re: Neglected "newer" boat - what to do?

We use a seasonal slip as well. While it is definitely bittersweet to pull her for a long winter's nap, offseason and midseason are great times to get preventative maintenance, deep cleaning, and any mods done. Tinkering can either be theraputic, or sometimes maddening. If you can stay in front of it, you'll get more carefree hours onboard.

It will also take you awhile to get comfortable retrieving and launching the boat and handling the trailer, and you should also check over the trailer bearings, lighting, and hitch functions so they are shipnshape. Do yourself a favor and practice trailering during non weekend or slower ramp periods. Burn a note to yourself to always remember: (1) remove drainplug at retrievel and replace it before launch, and (2) put the outdrive all the way up before retrieval. Even veterans miss these and have all sorts of reminders whether it be a checklist, taped notes, or hanging the drainplug near the winch handle.

Let's see more pics when you have a chance, which should be this morning, heh.

I will be taking the trailer to an empty parking lot to practice, practice, practice. I will also get the boat early in the morning to give me some time, but its not a busy boat launch since I think its just for the marina and thus most people are taking their boats out all the time. There are so many things I need to read up on.

I was down there just now getting rid of a bunch of crap the PO had in there and took one of the cushions with me back to the house to figure out the best way to get them clean. I forgot to take more pics - the outside isn't all that pretty. It really needs a good buffing, waxing, and likely new graphics. I will take some before and after pics once I get it out of the water and then after I hopefully get it all cleaned up.

 

[moosehead]

Re: Neglected "newer" boat - what to do?

Here's some good vinyl cleaning tips in the below thread. You may want to avoid bleach and abrasive cleaners unless absolutely a last ditch effort.

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-topic...topics/best-way-clean-vinyl-seats-605170.html

 

[britisher]

Re: Neglected "newer" boat - what to do?

Congratulations on the boat purchase. I'm pretty certain you got a good deal and if all the family are behind you, I'm sure you'll have many happy times. I chuckled at your comment about the wife wanting to keep her SUV in the garage. My wife won't dream of moving her soft top outside so the boat (which doesn't have a cover & sits forlornly outside), but that's the other sex for you. Don't forget to get everyone kitted out with lifejackets and make sure you have the USCG safety stuff on board. I picked a free leaflet in the boat store down her in FL called the Florida Boaters Guide. It's produced by our fish & wildlife. maybe your state has something similar. It;s got a lot of good USCG stuff in there on the rules of boating, safety stuff, licensing stuff, do's and don'ts. If you are planning on doing maintenance stuff yourself, this forum is an absolute treasure trove of information and expertise. You should never get stuck on anything with that sort of support. The internet in general is great for getting free download manuals. I pulled the Mercruiser Controls manual, the full manual for my engine and also the full manual for the sterndrive & transom - all free. Enjoy!!

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: Neglected "newer" boat - what to do?

Congratulations! Looks like a nice boat. Enjoy!

 

[jkust]

Re: Neglected "newer" boat - what to do?

Hey congrats. I'm glad you went back and reconsidered. Keep us posted and post some more pics.

 

[BoatDrinksQ5]

Re: Neglected "newer" boat - what to do?

Congrats!

definitly recommend investigating your Tach. very helpful in troubleshooting and just general performance check at full speed. (Should fall within a certain RPM range at full speed and hit near a certain speed).

Research trim and how to use it when doing various speeds, can change your top speed by more like 5mph, and help with handling at higher speeds. (bow shouldn't dig in tooo much)

Good luck and just keep reading forum info and online articles!